When I share the photos of our evening meals, a comment I get a lot is, I like the look of the meals you make for your family but I couldn’t serve that because there’s no way my children would eat it.
So, I wanted to reassure you that my children don’t eat it either – or at least they don’t eat it all. But there is no pressure for them to eat it all either. There are always accepted foods on the table – foods I know that they will usually eat – so they won’t go hungry, unless they choose not to eat anything!
Your child doesn’t need to like a whole meal, especially if it is something new to them. They may just eat one part of it that they know and like the first time you serve it, the second time you serve it they may eat that part plus a nibble of something different, the third time they might eat the first thing they took, a bit more of the second thing and have a lick of something else, and so on.
The more often you serve the ingredients, the more familiar they’ll become and the more comfortable your child will feel about trying them.
The fact that my children won’t always eat the meals I cook isn’t a reason not to serve the meals my husband and I like to eat. Let your children see you feeding and nourishing yourself and enjoying the meals you serve. The day will come when the food brings them joy too.